


Midnight

by coffeejenni



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-04-12 17:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21650293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeejenni/pseuds/coffeejenni
Summary: When Uenoyama fails to celebrate Mafuyu's birthday because of family complications, Mafuyu receives an unexpected surprise from someone he never expected to see.
Relationships: Satou Mafuyu & Uenoyama Ritsuka, Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka, Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka/Yoshida Yuuki, Satou Mafuyu/Yoshida Yuuki
Comments: 5
Kudos: 164





	Midnight

“_ Happy Birthday, Sato!” _

That’s right, it’s Mafuyu Sato’s birthday today, and Uenoyama Ritsuka was the first to wish him a happy one.

“_ Are you busy today?” _

For his birthday, all Mafuyu wanted was to be with Uenoyama. It would be the best, and only, gift he wanted. 

“_ I’m sorry, Mafuyu, but I have to be out of town today. My dad wants me to take him to this festival in his hometown.” _

Hearing this saddened Mafuyu, but despite it all, he was understanding. 

“_ It’s okay, we can celebrate when you get back into town.” _

After Mafuyu and Uenoyama arranged plans for later in the week, Mafuyu decided to go out. It was a nice day out, so there’s no reason to let it go to waste. Before leaving his apartment, Mafuyu grabbed a coat and scarf from his closet. Even though it was a nice day, it was still winter, which meant it would be chilly outside.

It only took a moment to grab his things, but when Mafuyu looked back at the doorway, he did a double take. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or if what he saw was really there. It isn’t possible. It shouldn’t _ be _ possible. But standing in Mafuyu’s bedroom doorway was Yuki. 

Mafuyu shook his head, _ I must be going crazy or seeing things. _When Mafuyu looked up once more, the figure was still there, standing in the doorway. 

“Are you real?” despite how bizarre the situation was, Mafuyu spoke up, “No, you can’t be real.”

“I mean, I’m here, so I must be real, right?” Yuki responds with a smile. 

“How can you be here? Y-you’re dead,” Mafuyu asks unbelievingly. 

“I guess I’m a ghost then,” Yuki chuckles, “To be honest, I’m not really sure how this works. All I know is that I wanted to be with you on your birthday, seeing that Uenoyama can’t be here today.” 

“How do you know about Uenoyama?” asks Mafuyu, surprised. 

“I’ve been watching over you all this time, that’s why,” Yuki admitted sheepishly. “And before you ask, I don’t actually mean _ all _ the time.”

“I wasn’t going to ask; it’s not like I have anything to hide anyways. You’ve seen everything,” Mafuyu said stoically. 

“I guess you’re right about that . . .” Yuki thought for a moment, “Anyways, weren’t you about to go out?”

“I was, until you suddenly appeared in my doorway.”

“Well what are you waiting for? I’m coming with you wherever you go,” Yuki declared. 

Mafuyu grabbed his guitar on his way out, and the two left the apartment and headed toward the station. Yuki didn't have a single clue where Mafuyu was headed, but he fell into step with him as they walked. 

Once they got off the train, Yuki couldn’t help but ask, “So where are we going exactly? And why did you bring your guitar?”

“It’s really _ your _guitar, but I wanted to take you to our band room,” was all Mafuyu said until they reached their destination. “Kaji gave me a spare key in case I wanted to practice here without them,” Mafuyu explained as he pulled a key out of his coat pocket and unlocked the door. 

Inside the band room, Mafuyu took his guitar out of its case to set it up. “Do you want to hear?”

“Of course I want to hear you play!” Yuki exclaimed with enthusiasm, “Let’s see how well you play now that Uenoyama is teaching you.”

Mafuyu played a few chords - the ones he knew how to play - and awaited Yuki’s feedback. 

Yuki, who sat across from Mafuyu, listened intently and grinned from ear to ear. When the boy was finished, Yuki gave him a small round of applause, “It’s amazing how you managed to learn and grow this much in such a short time! You really do have a great teacher.”

“Yes, I’m grateful that Uenoyama agreed to teach me,” admitted Mafuyu.

“It’s not just from Uenoyama’s teaching, you know. Anyone can tell that you’re working hard to catch up to the others and become better. I mean, look at your hands!” Yuki pointed out Mafuyu’s coarse fingertips. 

Mafuyu looked at his fingers, which were red and rough from the many hours of practice. 

“Say, why did you want to learn how to play the guitar anyways?” Yuki wonders aloud. 

Mafuyu thought for a minute, “I don’t know. I guess I felt like I had to. I’m not sure how to explain it. When your mom gave your guitar to me, it was all I had left of you. I decided that learning how to play would be the only way I could make it up to you.”

Yuki sighed, “Mafuyu, there is nothing for you to make up. What happened wasn’t your fault. All the choices I made were mine. I’m the one who has to make up for leaving you all alone.” 

“That’s not true,” Mafuyu argued, “Besides, I’m not alone anymore. I have Uenoyama. And knowing that you’re watching over us makes me happy.”

“I’m glad you’re in good hands,” says Yuki, “On another topic, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you get something to eat?”

“That brings up the question: can you even eat, Yuki?” Mafuyu asks, “Since you’re a ghost and all.”

“No, I don’t feel things you do anymore, which means I no longer feel hungry,” Yuki explains, “You, on the other hand, should go get dinner. It’s very unhealthy to skip meals.”

“Do you mind if I order take out then? I don’t really want to go out and eat since it would be awkward with me being the only one eating,” Mafuyu confessed.

“Oh! I haven’t had take out since the last time you had me over,” Yuki reminisced, “Do you remember that? Your mom wasn’t home that night and you didn’t know how to cook, so we decided to get take out instead.”

“Of course I remember,” Mafuyu rolled his eyes, “I went to bed that night, only to find that somehow you get sauce all over my sheets.”

“Are you sure it was sauce?” Yuki asked with a sinister grin.

“I’m going to kill you,” Mafuyu threatened the other boy, but remembered that he was a ghost.

“You can’t kill me if I’m already dead!” Yuki laughed maniacally. Apparently what Mafuyu said was so funny that he fell on his side and continued laughing on the ground.

“Then I’m going to make sure you die a second time,” declared Mafuyu.

A knock at the door interrupted the two boys. 

“It must be the delivery man,” Mafuyu guessed.

He opened the door and came face to face with a man wearing a hat. He was carring a bag of food in his hand. Mafuyu placed the money in the man’s free hand and accepted the bag with his other. He thanked him and closed the band room door when he left. 

“What did you order?” Yuki asked, staring at the box in Mafuyu’s hand.

“I ordered soba,” Mafuyu replied as he took the noodles out of the bag. 

Yuki watched as the other boy ate his soba. When Mafuyu looked up and saw this, he put the food down. “You know, it kind of makes me uncomfortable when you just sit there and watch me eat. Say something to make it less weird,” Mafuyu suggested.

“I’m not even sure what to talk about,” Yuki admitted. “Nothing has really changed for me since I died, and nothing exciting has occurred either.”

“Then talk about something from when you were still alive,” Mafuyu shrugged.

“In that case, I don’t think I ever told you about the CD I left in your room,” Yuki began, “It was meant to be a surprise for your birthday, and I left it there so I wouldn’t lose it. When you get back later tonight, you should take it out and listen to it. I was finally able to produce a song with the tune you always used to hum.”

Once more, Mafuyu set his soba down to ask, “Where is it?”

“It’s in the slot under the drawer where you keep your socks.”

“How do you even know about that space?” Mafuyu asks, “Wait. Here’s an even better question: why would you put it there?”

“I know just about every nook and cranny in your apartment, Mafuyu,” Yuki declares as-a-matter-of-factly, “I’ve been over countless times, remember? And I put it there because it’s one of the places you never look.”

“Well, you’re right. I don’t think I’ve looked in that spot for years,” Mafuyu admitted. “Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?” Yuki asked, confused.

“For the birthday gift,” Mafuyu explained, as if it couldn’t be more obvious. “You always did love music, so naturally I came to like it too. I can’t wait to listen to it.”

“Let me know what you think of it once you’ve listened to it,” Yuki asked as a favor. 

Mafuyu nodded his head as he finished his soba. He cleaned everything up and packed his guitar back in its case. 

“Where are we going now?” Yuki asked as he got up from his spot on the floor. 

Mafuyu slung the guitar case over his shoulders, “Do you remember the park we used to go to as kids?”

Yuki nodded his head understandingly and smiled. 

The park wasn’t far from where Mafuyu and Yuki were, but it was still quite a distance to walk. The two boys walked side by side as the cool night breeze grazed their faces. _ Luckily I brought my scarf, _Mafuyu thought as he pulled the scarf higher up his face.

Yuki noticed this, but realized there was nothing he could do about it. “I wish I could make you warmer, but I’m not really here, so my body has no warmth to it.”

“It’s fine, Yuki,” Mafuyu assured the worried boy, “I don’t mind it. It’s warmer than usual tonight.”

They reached the park and found that it was empty. It was no surprise, considering how late it was getting. When Mafuyu took his phone out to check the time, the screen showed him that it was almost midnight. 

Mafuyu set the guitar on the ground and sat on one of the swings. Yuki took the seat next to him, and the two boys swung back and forth for in silence for a while.

“Did you take me here for the nostalgia, Mafuyu? Or is there something on your mind that you would like to talk about? You’re usually never this quiet,” Yuki noted.

Mafuyu begins to speak solemnly, “I can’t hide anything from you, can I? Then, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Is this . . . right? Am I doing the right thing?” Mafuyu asked, his voice was reduced to a whisper. 

“What do you mean, Mafuyu?” Yuki asks, puzzled by Mafuyu’s startling question. 

“Is it right for me to love Uenoyama? I just . . . don’t know how it’s okay for me to just move on like this. It doesn’t feel right.” 

Yuki brought his swing to a halt and turned to face Mafuyu. “Let me ask you this: are you happy, Mafuyu?”

The other boy nods, “Uenoyama makes me very happy.”

“Then there’s nothing else you need to worry about,” Yuki declares, “This is all I ever wanted for you - to be happy. Regardless of who you are with. The only thing that matters now is that Uenoyama is the one who makes you happy and loves you.”

Mafuyu gives Yuki a sincere smile and continues to swing back and forth. He looks up at the moon. To their luck, it was full that night. 

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Mafuyu asked as he stared at the moon in awe.

Mafuyu heard Yuki reply, “It is,” but when he turned around, Yuki was no longer sitting next to him. All that was left was a swinging seat, which slowly came to a stop. When Mafuyu pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time once more, the digits read a little after midnight. 

Mafuyu was about to put his phone away, but a notification appeared on the screen, preventing him from doing so. The text was from Uenoyama. 

_ “I’m not sure if you’re still awake or not, but I just got back.” _

_ “Yes, I’m still awake.” _

_ “Perfect! I brought cake back from my dad’s hometown. I know it’s a little late now, but do you want to celebrate with me? _

_ “I would like that very much!” _

_ “I’m happy to hear that. Happy belated birthday, Mafuyu.” _

_ “Can you meet me at the park? The one near our band practice room.” _

_ “I’m on my way.” _

  
  


[END]


End file.
